Syrian convicted of engaging in affair with minor

AMMAN — The Criminal Court has sentenced a 28-year-old Syrian man to seven years imprisonment for engaging in consensual sex with a minor in Amman in August 2013.

The court declared the defendant guilty of the charge and handed him the maximum punishment.

Court papers said the 17-year-old Syrian victim, who was residing in Saudi Arabia, developed a relationship with the defendant through Facebook.

In August 2013, she came to Jordan and met the defendant, and engaged in a sexual relationship with him after undergoing an Urfi marriage, according to the court documents.
Urfi marriages have no official contract and are often kept secret. Couples repeat the words: “We got married,” and pledge commitment before God. Usually, a paper is written stating that the couple is married and two witnesses sign it. The marriage can be broken simply by destroying that paper. 

The court declared their Urfi marriage “null and void since the victim is under 18 and needs her male guardian’s approval, and because this kind of marriage is against the Islamic Sharia and civil Jordanian laws”.

The tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Khatib, Ibrahim Bawareed and Lafi Abu Tayeh.

The verdict, which was issued late in March, will automatically be reviewed by the Cassation Court within the next 30 days.